Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 35
Epsilon, like the Four Major Social Clubs, had identical admission requirements: securing majority consent from seven executives, including the leader.
“Things worked out rather entertainingly.”
‘Philaf showed more cunning than I expected.’
Isidore fingered his cards with an indifferent expression as he absorbed the intelligence already gathered.
“Aracron has quite a few vacancies this year. A significant number of active members have descended to their territories.”
“Even so, the Binoshu House is a name I’ve never heard of before.”
“That’s Montes’s influence. Philaf is the sole heir of a prestigious house—rare and precious. Since Miya healed the only son of such a distinguished family, she’s become a benefactor to a founding noble house.”
“Hmm….”
“Moreover, I hear she’s been actively engaged in relief work among the common people. Some of the simpler folk apparently revere her as the incarnation of a saint. So Philaf must have argued forcefully that Miya’s charitable deeds would enhance Aracron’s public image.”
“Ah. They pushed the saint image. Not a bad strategy at all.”
“Hmm. That said, this woman Miya has quite an unusual pattern of conduct. She goes about volunteering here and there, extending her healing touch, and if she can manage that workload, her divine power must be considerable.”
“Before long, Miya Binoshu’s divine power will likely be properly revealed, won’t it? With the Spring Blossom Festival approaching, the Theology Hall is calling in high-ranking priests to measure the purity and magnitude of students’ divine power.”
“Speaking of which, the Spring Blossom Festival is already upon us. Time really does fly.”
The Spring Blossom Festival was the Empire’s most popular celebration after the Harvest Thanksgiving Festival. Because of this, everyone was already deliberating over what attire to wear and who to partner with for the ball.
“Who should I choose as my dance partner this year….”
“Now then, everyone remembers the purpose of today’s gathering, yes?”
Isidore, who had been silent until now, tapped the table to remind the group of their meeting’s objective.
“The game was so entertaining I nearly forgot.”
“We gathered to discuss new members.”
“But Lord Isidore, I heard Cyril was spreading rumors that our club has no intention of accepting new members this year?”
At someone’s question, Thierry Orgo, an executive who had been focused solely on poker, suddenly burst into laughter.
Thierry Orgo—the third son of the Duke Orgo Family, a renowned house of swordmasters and founding nobility. He was nearly the same age as Diera Orgo, called the Sword Saint, though unlike the principled Diera, Thierry was light-hearted and frivolous.
“It would be awkward to tell Cyril directly to back off, so our genteel leader simply said we had no intention of accepting members. Do you all truly believe that?”
“The situation has changed. Since a member suddenly withdrew, we have no choice but to discuss recruitment. Lord Thierry.”
Isidore countered Thierry’s remark with a subtle smile.
‘Withdrew? That’s just a euphemism for being expelled….’
Miguel, who had been eating a slice of cake from the snack bar in the corner of the reception room, regarded Isidore—whose face bore a pleasant smile—with utter bewilderment.
Not long ago, Isidore had blackmailed one of Epsilon’s members using the pretext of plagiarizing a classmate’s thesis, forcing him to withdraw from the club.
The reason for deliberately removing a member was transparent. While the member’s conduct may have displeased his lord, the true purpose was undoubtedly to create a vacancy and draw Deborah Simour into Epsilon.
‘Lately, my lord has been spending far too much time on Deborah Simour.’
Juggling both the princess’s requests and the Crown Prince’s requests, my lord was stretched impossibly thin.
‘Though, Deborah Simour does have a rather endearing personality.’
Asking the prince to do the prince’s bidding….
Once again, Miguel’s laugh button was pressed, and he clamped his lips shut and pinched his thigh.
“I’d like to emphasize the handsome aspect, but selecting vocabulary to describe my appearance proves rather difficult.”
Every time Miguel witnessed his lord seriously revising his personal research materials (?) with a grave expression, he had to endure an extreme test of suppressing laughter.
“If anyone has a talented prospect in mind, speak now.”
The moment Isidore finished speaking, one of the executives shot his hand up.
“Lord Isidore. What if we consolidated all votes behind the recommender of the person holding the best hand here? Conveniently, with you included, there are exactly four executives present—precisely a majority.”
Everyone agreed to the entertaining proposal.
“Then, who should start?”
“I’ll reveal mine first.”
The member who showed two pair recommended Young-sik from the Northern Region Marquis House. After that, cards continued to be revealed.
“It looks like my recommendation will be joining Epsilon as a new member.”
Thierry Orgo confidently revealed his hand.
A full house.
The high-ranking hand drew murmurs of admiration. The stakes were considerable, and this was a golden opportunity to bring a close acquaintance into Epsilon.
Everyone cast envious glances at Thierry Orgo, and he basked in their gazes, puffing out his chest with pride.
“I recommend Seyrin Beluji. She possesses exceptional mana sensitivity and is an outstanding prospect. Doesn’t she fit well with our club, which values ability?”
“Hmm.”
“Though she isn’t present here, the Fifth Princess also holds Seyrin Beluji in high regard.”
The Fifth Princess was the Crown Prince’s only sister and served as a major pillar of the Sorority, the female branch of Epsilon. As the members nodded in agreement, thinking it a solid recommendation, Isidore tapped the table.
“There’s still someone who hasn’t revealed their hand.”
He began flipping over the cards before him at a leisurely pace.
A royal straight flush.
When the highest-ranking hand appeared—one with odds of 1 in 650,000—everyone gasped in shock.
“Is this real? I can’t believe it even seeing it with my own eyes.”
“Wow! This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a hand in reality.”
“Is this even possible? It doesn’t make sense!”
Thierry Orgo, who had lost despite holding a full house, clutched his head in astonishment.
“I suppose it was meant to be me.”
Isidore gestured at the cards with his chin and smiled faintly.
Of course, it was fraud. Since the male members of Epsilon were particularly fond of gambling and betting, Isidore had anticipated such a situation from the start and switched all the cards using spatial magic.
Everyone regarded Isidore as a gentleman of chivalrous spirit, so no one imagined he would resort to such underhanded tricks. It was the result of his careful image management.
“Quite the show-off. So who is your recommendation, anyway?”
Thierry Orgo asked with a resentful expression.
“Unfortunately, I have no recommendation at the moment. Of course, I have an outstanding prospect in mind, but we haven’t reached an agreement yet.”
“Isidore, does there truly exist a young lord or lady in this world who would refuse your request?”
“Well…”
“What an intrusive question.”
Isidore recalled Deborah Simour, who had regarded him with cold eyes, and smiled ambiguously before speaking.
“For now, I’ll accept your attendance here as compensation for my victory.”
Isidore wrote the location and time on a note.
“What is this? An inquiry into the truth?”
“Ah, I’ve heard about this! It’s that incident William Lemong has been making a fuss about recently. It seems Deborah Simour has caused another scandal?”
“Well, Deborah Simour certainly has her moments.”
“Consistently so.”
“She’s practically Simour’s troublemaker.”
“One of them goes around dispensing divine power and volunteering without compensation, while the other stirs up chaos and causes incidents. Both are Philaf’s women, yet the contrast is striking.”
A cool smile played at the corners of Isidore’s lips as he listened to their gossip.
“Don’t make hasty declarations. No one knows what hand we’re holding until all the cards are revealed, do they?”
He murmured in a low voice, his emerald eyes gleaming with an icy light.
* * *
5 o’clock today.
The truth-finding hearing I had requested from the Dean was being held in the Magic Department Grand Hall of the Academy. It was originally scheduled to take place in the Classroom where the Formula Theory lecture was held, but William Lemong personally designated the location as the Magic Department Grand Hall instead.
William had deliberately chosen an open space to prevent my cheating—or so he claimed. In reality, he wanted to thoroughly humiliate me. After all, he was convinced that Professor Kyle was accepting bribes and secretly feeding me the answers.
‘But somehow the scale of this has grown far larger than I anticipated….’
Not only did the Dean and Vice Dean appear, but four professors from the Magic Department, including Professor Kyle, entered the hall, and students who had heard the news William spread came flooding in.
And those people… what else?
Cold sweat beaded on my palms at this unexpected turn of events. The moment they appeared, the interior erupted into chaos.
“It’s Isidore!”
“This is the first time I’ve seen him in person, and he’s far more handsome than the rumors. His appearance is almost impossibly unreal.”
“But why is Sir Isidore, who should be with the Knight Order, here in the Magic Department?”
“Good heavens! Isn’t that Sir Thierry beside him!”
“The Orgo House came too?!”
“Say, the person entering at the very back—isn’t that the Fifth Princess?”
“My goodness. The r-royal family….”
“Now that I think about it, aren’t all those faces executives from Epsilon?”
“Why have all these busy people gathered here together?”
Exactly. That’s what I want to know. Why did they show up?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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